As part of the business continuity plan preparations, management wants a site arrangement to facilitate a desk for the workers. Which site do you…

A hot site is a fully equipped alternate facility, including office space with desks, computers, network connectivity, and all necessary systems, ready for immediate use. In the context of a business continuity plan (BCP), the request to "facilitate a desk" implies providing a fully functional workspace where employees can resume critical operations with minimal delay. A hot site is the only option that meets this requirement for immediate operational readiness, making it the most suitable recommendation to management for ensuring business continuity for its workers.

B. Cold site: This is merely an empty space with basic utilities like power and cooling. It lacks the desks, computers, and connectivity needed for workers to operate.

C. Warm site: This site is partially equipped but requires additional hardware and configuration before it can be fully operational, causing a delay in recovery.

D. Mobile site: This refers to a transportable facility, not its state of readiness. A mobile site can be configured as hot, warm, or cold, so this option is not specific enough.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2010). Special Publication 800-34 Rev. 1, Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems. Section 3.4.2, "Alternate Site," defines a hot site as "A fully configured alternate site that is ready to operate within a few hours of a disaster declaration." It contrasts this with cold sites ("no equipment") and warm sites ("partially equipped").

2. Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2018). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (15th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 8, "Securing Information Systems," the text discusses disaster recovery planning and describes a hot site as a facility that "provides a duplicate of the entire system, including furniture and office equipment, and is ready for immediate use." (p. 327).